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Highland is a distinct city-center neighborhood in
1887, John and Mary Elitch purchased the 16-acre Chilcott Farm (at what would later be 38th Ave and Tennyson.) The farm was lush with vegetables, fruit and shade trees and they used the produce for their Elitch’s Palace Dining Room in downtown Denver. Mrs. Elitch was quoted as saying, "The Highlands was something of a wilderness, for few streets were in common use. Mr. Elitch and I would drive from the gates of our ranch diagonally across the plains and down the hill, across the Platte River into Denver. A visit to 'the city' was a day's event to us." On May 1, 1890, the Elitches opened their Zoological Gardens and Grand Pavilion Theatre, which would later be known as Elitch Gardens. While the amusement park would later be relocated to downtown Denver, the Elitch Theatre remains at the original site today and is one of Denver's oldest historic buildings.
The residents also counted on Owen LeFevre's artesian well for clean drinking water and the breezes from the west provided clean air by blowing away any smog. Residents supported bond issues for schools, a library, and other civic improvements because they expected to have those services. The founding fathers eventually found it difficult to maintain such city services. In 1896, after considerable discussion, the residents voted to allow Denver to annex the town.
File:Highland001.jpg, Houses in Lower Highland
File:Highland002.jpg, Commercial buildings along the old street car lines in Lower Highland
File:HighlandSquare.jpg, Restaurants in Highland Square, 32nd Ave and Lowell blvd
File:Highland003.jpg, Typical side street, Denver Highland
File:HighlandPark.jpg, Highland Park
File:Old Highland Business District.JPG, The Old Highland Business District at 15th and Boulder streets
File:Elitch Theater Denver CO.jpg, The Historic Elitch Theatre at 38th and Tennyson
File:Boulder Street 4th of July parade, Denver, 2009.jpg, Highland 4 July parade on Boulder Street, 2009
City and County of Denver
City and County of Denver: Neighborhoods mapState of Colorado
History Colorado
{{authority control 1858 establishments in Kansas Territory Geography of Denver Ghost towns in Colorado History of Colorado Mining communities in Colorado Neighborhoods in Denver Populated places established in 1858 Pre-statehood history of Colorado Streetcar suburbs
Highland is a distinct city-center neighborhood in Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...
, United States, bounded by West 38th Avenue to the north, a Union Pacific Railroad line on the east, the South Platte River to the southeast, Speer Boulevard on the south, and Federal Boulevard on the west. The Highlands is sometimes used to refer to two separate city-center neighborhoods in Denver; Highland and West Highland, although the two neighborhoods are distinct. Highland and West Highland are both in the area that is referred to as the Northside. Highland is located immediately northwest of downtown. Note that the Highland neighborhood association has a slightly different definition with the easternmost boundary stopping at I-25
Interstate 25 (I-25), also known as the Pan-American Freeway, is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States. It is primarily a north–south highway, serving as the main route through New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. I-25 st ...
. And the West Highland neighborhood to the immediate west of Highland, with the borders of 38th and 29th Avenues on the north and south and Federal and Sheridan Boulevards on the east and west. To distinguish between its immediately adjacent neighbor, West Highland, Highland is sometimes referred to as East Highland, Lower Highland or LoHi. The two together are casually called "the Highlands," a term which often falsely encompasses other Northwest Denver neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park, Sunnyside and Berkeley. Realtors have particularly pushed the inclusion of Berkeley, located directly north of West Highland, as part of the Highlands, sometimes going so far as to refer to Berkeley and parts of Sunnyside as the "Upper Highlands". To add further confusion, within the Highlands neighborhoods there are several historic designations of various degrees, including Potter Highlands, Scottish Highlands and Highlands Park.
West Highland and the Highland neighborhoods (large portions of zip codes 80211 and 80212) currently have a population of about 57,000 people.
History
The townsite of Highland was laid out in December 1858 by William Larimer, Jr., who the previous month had founded Denver City. In 1859 the Highland town company formed, and a Platte River bridge was planned to connect to Auraria and Denver. Henry Allen, a surveyor, helped establish the Highland town company. The ''Rocky Mountain News'' noted: :"No more handsome location for residences can be found than on the highlands of Highland, on the opposite side of the river from and overlooking Auraria and Denver, and a vast extent of surrounding territory." In 1875, Owen LeFevre and other developers petitioned the Arapahoe County Commissioners to establish a village government. After annexing Potter Highland and Highland Park, they formed the Town of Highlands which became a city in 1885.
1887, John and Mary Elitch purchased the 16-acre Chilcott Farm (at what would later be 38th Ave and Tennyson.) The farm was lush with vegetables, fruit and shade trees and they used the produce for their Elitch’s Palace Dining Room in downtown Denver. Mrs. Elitch was quoted as saying, "The Highlands was something of a wilderness, for few streets were in common use. Mr. Elitch and I would drive from the gates of our ranch diagonally across the plains and down the hill, across the Platte River into Denver. A visit to 'the city' was a day's event to us." On May 1, 1890, the Elitches opened their Zoological Gardens and Grand Pavilion Theatre, which would later be known as Elitch Gardens. While the amusement park would later be relocated to downtown Denver, the Elitch Theatre remains at the original site today and is one of Denver's oldest historic buildings.
The residents also counted on Owen LeFevre's artesian well for clean drinking water and the breezes from the west provided clean air by blowing away any smog. Residents supported bond issues for schools, a library, and other civic improvements because they expected to have those services. The founding fathers eventually found it difficult to maintain such city services. In 1896, after considerable discussion, the residents voted to allow Denver to annex the town.
Highland Today
The racial breakdown for the West Highland neighborhood is 75.78%white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 19.17% Hispanic or Latino, 1.1% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.7% Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, and 0.64% Native American. The Highland neighborhood's racial makeup is 57.42% white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 37.25% Hispanic or Latino, 1.91% African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.36% Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
n, and 0.64% Native American.
Crime in the Highland neighborhoods is on par with the Denver city crime rate, with a rate of 66 incidents per 1,000 people. Property crimes such as burglary, larceny theft, vehicle theft, and robbery are slightly above city and national averages, while violent crimes are slightly below.
The average price per square foot of a home in Highland in May 2023 was $518 psf.
Gallery
See also
* Bibliography of Colorado *Geography of Colorado
The geography of the U.S. State of Colorado is diverse, encompassing rugged mountainous terrain, vast plains, desert lands, desert canyons, and mesas. Colorado is a landlocked U.S. state. In 1861, the United States Congress defined the boun ...
* History of Colorado
* Index of Colorado-related articles
*List of Colorado-related lists
The following two master lists include links to lists related to the United States, U.S. Colorado, State of Colorado.
#Colorado-related lists by topic
#Alphabetical list of Colorado-related lists
Colorado-related lists by topic General lists
*Bib ...
** List of neighborhoods in Denver
** List of populated places in Colorado
*Outline of Colorado
The following Outline (list), outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the U.S. state of Colorado:
Colorado – List of U.S. states and territories by population#State and territory rankings, 22nd most populous, the Lis ...
References
External links
City and County of Denver
City and County of Denver: Neighborhoods map
History Colorado
{{authority control 1858 establishments in Kansas Territory Geography of Denver Ghost towns in Colorado History of Colorado Mining communities in Colorado Neighborhoods in Denver Populated places established in 1858 Pre-statehood history of Colorado Streetcar suburbs